Green eyes focus on Alaska politics ... again

RE-RUN: Lisa Murkowski running in a three-person race could be a real problem for global warming deniers. (Photo:Dan Joling/AP)

It wasn’t that long ago that everything in the Alaska political scene was chugging along the way it should. Sarah Palin was marching around with Glenn Beck, tens of people were traveling on Ted Stevens’ “Bridge to Nowhere,” and Lisa Murkowski was preparing to waltz into another term as a United States senator.

What a difference a month makes. Former Sen. Stevens passed away in a tragic plane crash, leaving only memories of the influential senator behind. Murkowski lost a stunning primary race to political outsider Joe Miller as August closed. And Palin, for her part, is keeping things somewhat consistent as she planned to have a 9/11 party this weekend with Glenn Beck.

Somehow, it is the Murkowski situation that keeps twisting and turning. The latest is that the senator is considering casting a write-in campaign against both Republican Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams. After the Miller victory, many, including yours truly, took note that the Alaska seat could actually go to McAdams, who is basically a political unknown.

Enter, or shall I say, re-enter Lisa Murkowski.

With Miller’s un-favorability numbers being relatively high (52 percent), and McAdams running on a pro-environment platform, Murkowski could be some sort of compromise candidate for those living in America’s last frontier. A Murkowski write-in victory is still unlikely, but considering the election is anticipated to be somewhat close in sparsely populated Alaska, the result could be that Murkowski throws the election into McAdam’s hands by siphoning votes away from Miller.

This could be an exciting development for environmentalists. While a Miller victory will be a victory for global warming deniers, a Murkowski victory would be a push, as the senator is considered a moderate voice on many climate related issues. Obviously, a McAdam’s victory is the best possible result for greenies. No matter how you look at it, Murkowski being in the race, even as a write-in candidate, increases the likelihood that Alaskans send some type of reasonable environmental voice to the Senate this November.

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